A giant cell rich osteosarcoma of the proximal ulnar bone treated by elbow arthroplasty: A case report

Giant cell-rich osteosarcoma: A match pair analysis of 11 new cases and literature review of 56 patients

BACKGROUND

Limited remains known on giant cell-rich osteosarcoma (GCRO) with current studies being case reports or smaller series. This investigation compared GCRO and conventional osteoblastic osteosarcoma (OOS) with regard to demographics and survival.

METHODS

An institutional tumor registry was used to identify 11 patients (six males) treated for GCRO. Mean age was 43 years. Staging showed American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages IIA in four and IIB in seven patients. Mean follow-up was 14 years. Study initiatives were: (1) Comparison of demographics between GCRO and 167 OOS from our institutional registry, (2) Differences in survival between GCRO and 33 OOS case controls (based on sex and AJCC stage), as well as 10 OOS using an age-based propensity match, and (3) Summary of all GCRO cases reported in the literature.

RESULTS

(1) Sex (p = 0.53), grading (p = 0.56), AJCC stage (p = 0.42), and chemotherapeutic response rate (p = 0.67) did not differ between groups. Age was significantly increased in GCRO (p = 0.001). (2) Case-control and propensity-matched groups revealed no difference in disease-free survival, local recurrence, and distant disease-free survival at 2 years (p > 0.05). (3) Mean age of 56 patients (50% males) reported in the literature was 26 years. After merging with our 11 cases, the 2-year disease-free survival was 66%.

CONCLUSIONS

GCRO remains a rare disease with high short-term mortality. Although affecting older patients more than conventional osteosarcoma, GCRO should not be viewed as a predictor of survival compared to OOS.

Case Report: Giant cell-rich osteosarcoma of the cervical spine in the pediatric age. A rare entity to consider

BACKGROUND

Although osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children, its location in the axial skeleton is rare, particularly at the cervical spine. Early diagnosis, together with multidisciplinary management, improves survival rates. Safe resection and stable reconstruction are complicated by the particular anatomy of the cervical spine, which raises the risks.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 12-year-old male patient presented with cervical pain for several months and a recent weight loss of 3 kg. The complementary workup revealed a large destructive bone lesion in C7 with vertebral body collapse, subluxation, partial involvement of C6 and T1, large associated anteroposterior soft tissue components, and spinal canal narrowing. A biopsy suggested giant cell-rich osteosarcoma (GCRO). After 10 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgical resection was performed through a double approach: anterior, for tumoral mass resection from C6-7 vertebral bodies and reconstruction placing a mesh cage filled with iliac crest allograft plus anterior plate fixation; and posterior, for C7 complete and C6 partial posterior arch resection, thus completing a total piecemeal spondylectomy preserving the dura intact, added to a C5-T3 posterior fusion with screws and transitional rods. Postoperative chemo and radiotherapy were administered. Clinical and radiological follow-up showed disease-free survival and no neurological involvement at 3 years.

CONCLUSION

An extensive review of the literature did not find any published cases of GCRO of the cervical spine in pediatric patients. This can be explained by the combination of three peculiar conditions: its location at the cervical spine region, the young age, and the GCRO variant.

What Are the Results of Limb Salvage Surgery for Primary Malignant Bone Tumor in the Forearm?

Background and Objectives

After diagnosing a primary bone tumor involving the forearm, various excision strategies and reconstruction methods must be considered. This study explored the oncological and functional outcomes of limb salvage surgery for primary malignant bone tumors in the forearm.

Methods

Patients with primary forearm bone tumors (n = 369) were retrospectively analyzed between 2000 and 2017. There were 266 patients with radial tumors, and 46 (17.3%) were malignant, whereas 103 patients had ulnar lesions and 22 (21.4%) were malignant tumors. The oncological results, prognostic factors, and functional results after limb salvage surgery of forearm malignancies were analyzed.

Results

The follow-up averaged 72.1 (7–192, median 62.5) months. Fifty-six patients who received limb salvage surgery were included in the final evaluation. Radius resection was performed in 38 patients, and distal radius (25 patients) was most frequent. Ulnar resection was performed in 18 patients, and the proximal ulna (13 patients) was most frequent. The surgical margins obtained were intralesional in 3 patients, marginal in 8 patients and wide in 45 patients. Local recurrence occurred in 11 patients (19.6%), and distant metastasis occurred in 14 patients (25%). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 79.8%. Unplanned excision, ulnar involvement, proximal forearm location and inadequate surgical margins were associated with recurrence. The overall 5-year and 10-year survival rates were 83.5 and 71.7%, respectively. Distant metastasis was a poor prognostic factor for the survival rate. Forty-two patients were evaluated by MSTS score with an average of 27.9 ± 1.5.

Conclusions

The incidence of radial malignant tumors is higher than that of ulnar lesions. The distal radius and the proximal ulna are the most frequently involved sites. Unplanned excisions, ulnar tumors, proximal forearm tumors, and inadequate surgical margin are the risk factors for local recurrence. Distant metastasis is an independent poor prognostic factor of death. The oncology control and functional results of limb salvage surgery were satisfactory.